Tinubu Didn’t Support Buhari’s Emergence As APC Candidate — Lauretta Onochie

A  former Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari, Lauretta Onochie,  has claimed that President Bola Tinubu did not support Buhari’s emergence as the APC’s presidential candidate in 2014.

Onochie stated that Tinubu did not support Buhari’s emergence as the APC’s candidate, citing remarks made by former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha.

Buhari, a two-term president of Nigeria from 2015 to 2023, emerged the first presidential candidate of the APC in 2014 following its formation from a merger majorly by the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) and Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) in 2013.

While writing on her official X handle on Thursday, Onochie referenced remarks made by Boss Mustapha, to support her claim and challenge what she called a long-standing false narrative.

“Every lie has an expiry date,” she wrote. “Yesterday, the lie that @officialABAT (Tinubu) made @MBuhari President, expired.”

She added: “Thank you, Boss Mustapha, for puncturing the lies of those unsuccessfully trying to rewrite history. Me: Tinubu DID NOT even support Buhari’s emergence as candidate in 2014. Fact.”

Mustapha had during a book launch in Abuja on Wednesday, said that Buhari’s personal popularity was central to the APC’s 2015 victory, stating that “Buhari’s popularity won us 12.5 million votes.”

Onochie’s comments contradict the widely held belief that Tinubu played a decisive role in Buhari’s presidential bid and ultimate victory.

The debate highlights the complexities of Nigerian politics and the different perspectives on the roles played by key figures in shaping the country’s history.